[woe18]

The Channel Cats were very pleased and (shocked) to be one of the 4 teams selected for an interview at the Championships. Aside from "Fish-boy" and "unicycle kid", we tend to be very introverted.

We are also very committed to FIRST. We do not have a teacher on our team. Our kids come from 8 different schools, which do not participate in FIRST. As parents and mentors, we had a choice; either wait for the school's permission to become a school club, or go out on our own. As engineers concerned about a future work force, and as parents concerned about future jobs for our children, we felt FIRST too important of an opportunity to wait. So we formed our own 501(c)3 for the sole purpose of supporting FIRST within our county.

We recruit our kids through word-of-mouth, public demos and by moving up students from our Lego Leagues (we should be up to 15 county teams for 2008). Our high school students are not typically "joiners", so our participants generally do not know each other prior to becoming involved on our team. For them, this is the only club or organization in which they participate.

Although I am extremely proud of our team and their dedication, I recognize the veteran teams that have set a very high bar! Without their energy, innovation and continual push to be the best role models the nation has to offer, this documentary wouldn't even be possible!